U.S. dollar rallies against Japanese yen to four-week high

NEW YORK, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar on Monday gained against Japanese yen to a four-week high as the better-than- expected economic data from Japan boosted risk taking sentiment.

Bank of Japan on Monday released its quarterly "tankan" survey, showing a notable improvement in business sentiment among large manufacturers. The sentiment reading for large manufacturing enterprises in the second quarter rose to plus 4 from the previous quarter's minus 8.

The dollar extended gains versus the yen after data showed that U.S. manufacturing rose more than forecast.

U.S. manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in better than expected. The index for June stood at 50.9, up from May's reading of 49, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said Monday. The market analysts had expected the index to stand at 50.5.

The U.S. construction spending rose 0.5 percent in May, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

In late New York trading, the euro gained to 1.3059 dollars from 1.3018 dollars of the previous session and the British pound decreased to 1.5208 dollars from 1.5212 dollars. The Australian dollar increased to 0.9231 dollars from 0.9157 dollars. The dollar bought 99.72 Japanese yen, higher than 99.18 yen of the previous session. It edged up to 0.9456 Swiss francs from 0. 9438 Swiss francs and went down to 1.0501 Canadian dollars from 1. 0504 Canadian dollars.